Archives for September 2014

We are excited to announce the launch of our Green Pathways project in Glasgow. Thanks to successful funding from Young Start and The Robertson’s Trust, this fantastic new project will offer exciting opportunities for vulnerable young people to enjoy wildlife and be involved in outdoor activities.

Outdoor education is proven to positively influence the behaviour and self-discipline of young people and also enhances emotional development. Contact with nature has also been linked to reduced crime and aggression, and improved community integration and mental health. Green Pathways will use both of these tools to help young people with difficult lives work together to improve their communities and their own futures.

Jenny Leon, our Learning Coordinator at Froglife says:

“I am so pleased we are able to offer this opportunity to Glasgow’s young people. It’s really important that they get the opportunity to have positive experiences in the great outdoors. The benefits are huge to the young people themselves and it also helps us protect local wildlife and habitats- everyone wins!”

Green Pathways will reach out to disadvantaged or vulnerable 10-15 year olds in the Glasgow area – with scope to work to a lesser degree with other ages – who may be exhibiting challenging behaviour, lacking in confidence or could simply benefit from extra help to achieve their full potential. The target audience is wide ranging and could cover, for example, teenagers living in deprived areas, those not in mainstream education or with a difficult home life, young carers or refugees. We will be working with these young people as part of our integrated approach to youth work in the city; we already run a successful Green Pathways project in Peterborough, working with young offenders and people not in employment, education or training.

Each young person will work with Froglife for 2 hours a week for 6 to 12 weeks on a project that could involve anything from surveying for amphibians to clearing scrub or making a wildlife garden. The scheme will increase the confidence of participants by involving them in the planning and design of their project and encouraging them to work as a team. In conjunction with these longer term projects, Green Pathways will also be offering drop in sessions after school and during the holidays as well as outreach sessions where we will go out to local green spaces and parks, into schools and youth centres to deliver practical or classroom based sessions.

Our new team member and Conservation Youth Worker, Lauren Lochrie says:

“What a fantastic project to be involved in! I have been busy developing local partnerships and educational activities, now I’m keen to start delivering these fun and interactive sessions in order to benefit and enhance the lives of Glasgow’s disadvantaged youths”

The project will be working to improve green spaces for wildlife and people across the city for the next 2 years. If you are interested in getting involved or just want to find out more, please visit www.froglife.org/greenpathways or contact Lauren Lochrie on 0141 339 0737 or lauren.lochrie@froglife.org

Bullet points on Young Start

Young Start is a grants programme that distributes money from dormant bank accounts. It aims to create opportunities for children and young people aged between 8 and 24 to help them realise their potential.

The programme is delivered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Croaking science is a new way for student volunteers and scientist to explore what’s occurring in the world of Science. Croaking Science looks at science facts, new research or old debates which are inspired by or affect amphibians and reptiles, and then communicates this in layman’s language to a wider audience. The aim of the feature is to provide a platform for those starting their foray into the world of science communications as well as established scientists. We welcome any submissions from students and scientists. Please note that the views expressed in the articles are not those of the Froglife Trust.

This week our Croaking Science reporter, Rhiannon Laubach, introduces us to the Olm one Europe’s most unusual amphibians.

The only cave dwelling vertebrate in Europe is an amphibian – a salamander known as an Olm (Proteus anguinus and it is various sub species). It is a neontenic salamander which means they do not metamorphose fully and retain some larval characteristics such as external gills and a tail fin. This rarity has a restricted range as it is completely aquatic and only found in areas of karst aquatic cave systems in limestone or dolomite rocks. They are found in the Dinaric Alps that stretch along the Adriatic Sea, from north-eastern Italy to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The olm looks like an elongated salamander with thin legs, a long head, rounded snout and a flat tail. They are between 23 and 25cm in length with males being smaller then females. Their skin is whitish and translucent in colour, with a pink tinge due to the blood vessels being so close to the surface.

This species lives in total darkness so their eyes are very poorly developed and have regressed back into their heads. In one sub species they are completely covered over by skin. Interestingly, larvae’s eyes develop normally until they are about 4 months old when the development stops and the eyes start to atrophy. The olm’s have an area of light sensitive specialised cells called ‘melanophores’ on top of their head

To compensate for the lack of sight, the olm has other more acute senses that allow them to hunt in the dark. They have one on the best senses of smell of any amphibian. They can use their sense of smell and taste to locate very low levels of organic compounds in the water. They also have very specialised ears that can sense both vibrations from the ground and sound waves through the water. Unusually, olms have a lateral line which is common in many fish species. This is a pressure sensitivity system that can sense tiny water displacements. Olms also have sixth sense which is centred in a special sensor in their heads known as an ‘ampullary organ’ that enables them to detect weak electrical fields.

Olms feed on detritus washed into the caves as well as other endemic cave species such as crabs, snails and other insects. They swallow their prey whole. Olms can consume large amounts of food and store it as deposits of glycogen in their liver. When they can’t find food, they can use these deposits. Experiments have shown that Olms can survive up to 10 years without food.

Olms are a long lived species they have been recorded as having a life span of 58 years. There is anecdotal evidence they can live up to 100 years. They become sexually mature between the ages of 7 and 12. Females can lay up to 70 eggs hiding them under stones which she guards the eggs until they hatch.

Olms are difficult to study in the wild so most observations of their life history come from a sub-terraine CNRS laboratory in the French Pyrenees, where the olm has been studied since 1955.

It occupies an area of less than 2,000 square km and its habitat has become increasingly threatened. The Olm is threatened by over-collection in the wild, invasive species, pollution and improvements in agriculture causing an increased amount of chemical run off.

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